REScheck & COMcheck Cheshire MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Cheshire
- New construction and major renovations in Cheshire follow the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code. IECC Climate Zone 6A.
- Massachusetts has three energy-code levels - base (2021 IECC), Stretch, and Specialized (Opt-In) - and Cheshire is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Cheshire
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Cheshire additions, alterations and renovations (from $300); new-construction performance projects use a full HERS energy model instead.
- Commercial projects use COMcheck for the prescriptive path (from $600); larger new commercial buildings need third-party performance certification under the Stretch Code.
- 24-48 hour turnaround - documentation ready to upload with your Cheshire permit application.
What you can get back: 2026 Mass Save
- All-electric renovations and additions can earn Mass Save incentives up to $20,000 (Level 1) or $30,000 (Level 2) for a single-family home, verified by a RESNET-certified HERS rater.
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REScheck & COMcheck Cheshire MA
From small additions to commercial fit-outs in Cheshire, we deliver the REScheck and COMcheck reports your Berkshire County building department requires — accurate, signed, and turned around quickly.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Cheshire building permit application.
REScheck vs. COMcheck: What’s the Difference?
REScheck and COMcheck are DOE-developed programs that show a building meets the IECC energy code. Which one your Cheshire project needs depends on whether the work is residential or commercial — here is how they differ.
What is a COMcheck?
COMcheck handles commercial work and high-rise residential of four stories or more. The DOE tool evaluates envelope, lighting (interior and exterior), and mechanical systems against either the IECC or ASHRAE 90.1, with trade-offs allowed across components.
What is a REScheck?
REScheck is DOE software for residential compliance — detached one- and two-family homes and multifamily buildings three stories or fewer. It runs a UA (insulation and window) trade-off calculation against the IECC, letting extra performance in one assembly offset another so the whole envelope still passes.
Is a REScheck Right for Your Cheshire Project?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Cheshire that do not need a HERS rating. It is typically the right tool for:
- New residential construction or an addition of 1,000 sq ft or less that does not require a HERS rating
- Additions, alterations, or renovations to a one- or two-family home
- Projects where insulation and window trade-offs are enough to demonstrate compliance
- Multifamily buildings of three stories or fewer
- Detached accessory structures with conditioned space
COMcheck Projects in Cheshire
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Cheshire. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
- Tenant fit-outs and interior or exterior lighting alterations
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
- Envelope work on commercial structures requiring IECC or ASHRAE 90.1 compliance
What Your Cheshire Compliance Report Includes
Fast, permit-ready turnaround
We deliver documentation ready to upload with your building permit application, and we answer plan-review questions if the department asks for revisions.
REScheck report
A signed REScheck compliance certificate matched to your plans, the inspection checklist, and the UA trade-off summary showing your insulation R-values and window U-factors meet the residential energy code.
COMcheck report
The COMcheck Envelope, Lighting, and Mechanical Compliance Certificates plus the Plan Review Checklist — the full package a commercial plan reviewer expects for permit submission.
Plans matched to code
We enter your assemblies, fenestration, and (for commercial) lighting and mechanical details exactly as designed, so the report reflects what you are actually building in Cheshire.
Serving Cheshire and Berkshire County
Cheshire sits in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in IECC climate zone 5A — the cold-climate zone that drives the insulation and air-sealing levels your REScheck or COMcheck must document. We prepare compliance reports for projects throughout Berkshire County, matched to the code edition Cheshire currently enforces.
What a REScheck or COMcheck Costs in Cheshire
Transparent starting prices. Final cost depends on project size, number of assemblies, and scope.
- REScheck (residential): starting at $300
- COMcheck (commercial): starting at $600
- Revisions to match plan-review comments are handled promptly
REScheck reports start at $300 and COMcheck reports start at $600 for projects in Cheshire. Send your plans for an exact quote.
Trusted by Cheshire Builders & Owners
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Cheshire Project Need?
Cheshire is not one of the 60 Massachusetts communities on the Specialized Code, and the state's adoption list shows Cheshire on the Massachusetts Stretch Code (225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00) since January 1, 2020, so projects here follow the Stretch Code. We confirm Cheshire's current code status against the state list before we prepare any report.
| Your Cheshire project | What the energy code paperwork usually is |
|---|---|
| New single-family home or low-rise residential building | In Stretch Code towns, a HERS rating (maximum HERS 42 mixed-fuel, 45 all-electric) or Passive House. REScheck is not accepted for new homes under the Stretch Code. |
| Residential addition of 1,000 sq ft or less (and not over 100% of the existing home) | REScheck (REScheck-Web, 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code) or the prescriptive tables |
| Residential addition over 1,000 sq ft or over 100% of the existing home | A HERS rating of the whole house (HERS 65 or lower mixed-fuel, 70 or lower all-electric) |
| Basement or attic conversion with no change to footprint or roofline | No HERS rating required; REScheck or prescriptive documentation |
| Residential renovation or alteration | Prescriptive alteration rules; REScheck can document the envelope. Large "extensive" alterations over 1,000 sq ft may need a HERS rating. |
| New commercial building up to 20,000 sq ft | COMcheck: Envelope, Lighting and Mechanical certificates plus the Plan Review Inspection Checklist |
| New commercial building over 20,000 sq ft | COMcheck Lighting and Mechanical, with the envelope shown by backstop and thermal-bridge calculations, on a performance path (Targeted Performance/TEDI or ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G) or Passive House |
| Commercial addition, alteration, or lighting/HVAC change | COMcheck for the altered systems |
| Multifamily building over 12,000 sq ft | Passive House or a HERS/performance path |
Based on 225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00 (Massachusetts energy code, 2025 edition). Building departments make the final call, so we confirm the path for your project before we start. Cheshire is in Berkshire County, served from our Marlborough (272 Lincoln St) office.
How We Prepare Your Cheshire REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Cheshire project. We tell you the same day whether you need a REScheck, a COMcheck or a HERS rating.
We model the building
We enter every assembly, window, light fixture and HVAC unit as designed and flag anything that fails before the plan reviewer sees it.
Permit-ready report
You get the signed compliance certificates and checklists, ready to upload with your Cheshire building permit application.
Plan review support
If the building department asks for changes, we revise the report and answer the reviewer's questions.
REScheck & COMcheck for Cheshire Permits
Cheshire adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Code effective January 1, 2020, according to the state's adoption list, and has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. The Building Department works out of the Cheshire Community House and Town Offices at 191 Church Street and sees the public by appointment only. Building permit applications are filed online through the Berkshire PermitEyes portal, which the town links from its Building Department page.
Before you apply in Cheshire
Work out which energy code document your project needs, because the answer depends on what you are building:
- Adding a family room, primary suite or other conditioned space up to 1,000 sq ft, and not more than 100% of the existing home? A REScheck usually covers it where the prescriptive path is allowed.
- Building a new house? The Stretch Code requires a HERS rating, at or below HERS 42 for mixed-fuel or 45 for all-electric. REScheck is not accepted.
- Doing a larger renovation or addition beyond those limits? Plan on a whole-house HERS rating of 65 mixed-fuel or 70 all-electric.
- Fitting out a store, office or other commercial space? COMcheck covers the envelope, lighting and mechanical work. A new commercial building over 20,000 sq ft needs more than a COMcheck.
Cheshire's Building Department page does not name a specific energy code form, so confirm what the inspector wants when you book your appointment. Our Marlborough office at 272 Lincoln St C1 is the closest HEEC location to Cheshire, and we deliver reports as PDFs ready for PermitEyes. Include the plans with insulation, window and heating details when you send them to us.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Cheshire Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Cheshire?
Under the Massachusetts Stretch Code, new homes need a HERS rating (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric) or Passive House. REScheck is used for additions of 1,000 sq ft or less that are not over 100% of the existing home, basement and attic conversions, and renovations. We confirm Cheshire's code status before we start.
When is a COMcheck required in Massachusetts?
A COMcheck documents commercial energy code compliance for new commercial buildings up to 20,000 sq ft (envelope, lighting and mechanical), for lighting and mechanical on larger buildings, and for commercial additions and alterations such as fit-outs, lighting changes and HVAC replacements. Massachusetts commercial code is based on the 2021 IECC with state amendments in 225 CMR 23.00.
What does a COMcheck include?
The COMcheck Envelope Compliance Certificate, the Interior and Exterior Lighting Compliance Certificates, the Mechanical Compliance Certificate, and the Plan Review Inspection Checklist. Massachusetts 225 CMR 23.00 Section C103.2 lists these as the construction-document requirements for buildings up to 20,000 sq ft.
What does a REScheck include?
A REScheck compares your home's envelope (insulation R-values and window U-values) to the code using a total UA trade-off, so stronger performance in one assembly can offset another. The report includes the compliance certificate and inspection checklist. Mandatory items such as air sealing and duct sealing still apply.
What size addition needs a HERS rating instead of REScheck?
In Massachusetts, a residential addition over 1,000 sq ft, or over 100% of the existing conditioned floor area, needs a HERS rating of the whole house (225 CMR 22.00 R502.1.1). Converting an existing basement or attic without changing the footprint or roofline does not.
What information do you need to prepare a REScheck or COMcheck?
Plans with wall, roof and floor sections, insulation types and R-values, the window and door schedule with U-factors and SHGC, and for commercial work the lighting fixture schedule with wattages, lighting controls, and HVAC and water heating equipment schedules.
Which software version is used in Massachusetts?
REScheck-Web with the 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code option for residential, and COMcheck-Web set to the 2021 IECC (or ASHRAE 90.1-2019) for commercial, matching the code Massachusetts enforces.
How much does a REScheck or COMcheck cost in Cheshire?
REScheck reports start at $300 and COMcheck reports start at $600. The final price depends on the size of the project and how many assemblies and systems need to be entered. Send your plans for an exact quote.
How do I apply for a building permit in Cheshire?
Online, through the Berkshire PermitEyes portal linked from the town's Building Department page. The Building Department at 191 Church Street meets the public by appointment only.
Is Cheshire a Stretch Code town?
Yes. The state's adoption list shows Cheshire on the Stretch Code since January 1, 2020. New homes need a HERS rating, while small additions can usually use REScheck.
Related: HERS rating in Cheshire · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Cheshire?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Cheshire permit.
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HERS Ratings in Cheshire, Massachusetts
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants provides Cheshire with certified HERS ratings, blower door and duct leakage testing, and Massachusetts energy-code compliance for new construction, additions, and major renovations — with same-day preliminary reports.
We rate homes across the Commonwealth from our four offices. Reach the one nearest your Cheshire project — Somerville, Framingham, Marlborough, or Everett — or call (617) 501-6788 to schedule a Cheshire rating.
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